being a woman. host: what do you mean? guest: she was not sympathetic that women should have special treatment or special privileges. i think she relish the idea that she was a queen victoria, a queen elizabeth i, a woman in a time of men. host: david rennie of "the the latest and addition -- freedom fighter. a four-page special inside the magazine. thank you for being with us. guest: thank you. host: that is it for today's "washington journal." [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the clo ptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the

u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker: the house will be in order. pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip each to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. hurt, for five minutes. mr. hurt: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the american people know the budget is one of the most important documents produced by any legislative body. the document reflects the priorities and values of our

government and our nation. while it is a document that it is a reflection of today, more important, it is a document that lays out a vision for our nation's future, the future for our children and the future that they will inherit. so now for the first time in four years, the american people are able to compare side by side the three competing visions for our future as proposed by the house, proposed by the senate and proposed by the president. two of these proposals would give to our children more taxes, more spending and neither ever reaches balance. there is only one proposal, the house budget, that would instead give to our children a balanced budget and a brighter future of freedom and opportunity. now is the time to choose the budget that reflects our american values. mr. speaker, the american people and future generations of americans deserve a balanced budget. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, for

five minutes. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. preliminary, however to my remarks, i want to say i thank the gentleman for my -- the previous speaker for his remarks and to say i would hope that the senate, having passed a budget, we having passed a budget, the president submitting a budget, that we will now, hopefully as soon as this week, go to conference so that we might discuss the differences and get that budget to which the gentleman addressed himself. i thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful individual who has served our country in government service for many years and spent the last four overseeing our federal work force as the director of the office of personnel management. i am speaking of my dear friend, john berry, who retired last week as of the director of the office of personnel

management. mr. speaker, america is blessed with hardworking, talented and dedicated men and women. too often, however, their contributions are overlooked or even denigrated by those who would use our federal employees as an easy target to attack the institution of government. john berry made it one of his central missions at o.m.b. to stand up for achievements and remind the american people the true value we get from recruiting and retaining the best public work force in the world. he came to o.p.m. fighting for federal employees and their families. when he served for 10 years as my legislative director, john was instrumental in crafting the federal employee pay comp rehabilitate act and making sure -- comp rehabilitate act comparibility act

and making sure that the president signed it into law. that undertaking and many others, john berry made a real difference of the more than 62,000 federal workers and everyone else who called my district home. just as we look to our federal workers to watch out for us, our federal workers look to john to watch out for them, to make sure they have a safe work environment, that their paychecks will arrive on time and the benefits they earn are the ones they receive. under president clinton, john served as deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary for law enforcement at the treasury department. overseeing the united states secret service and the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms. and he later moved to the interior department where he was assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, essentially the manager of the department of interior. before coming to the office of personnel management, john

spent nearly a decade working on conservation as director of the fish and wildlife foundation, and then arguably the job he perhaps has enjoyed most, he became director of the national zoo. at the national zoo, he was so successful turning around a faltering institution that after he left they named a lion in his honor. john indeed was a lion, a lion on behalf of the federal employees, a lion on behalf of good government, a lion on behalf of integrity. john know he is a true leader and manager and an incredibly warm person with an unfailing positive outlook. mr. speaker, john berry will be greatly missed by all who serve our country and its civilian work force. i wish john and his partner, curtis, all the best as he begins the next phase in his career. i hope my colleagues will join

me in thanking john for his service, for his leadership, for his insights, for his inspiration and for being an example to all of us, as a positive, constructive, supportive and successful career in federal service. mr. speaker, our country has been the beneficiary of his character, integrity and extraordinary ability. we wish him well in all that he will be doing, and i'm sure it will be extraordinarily productive as of service to our country as he moves on from federal service at the o.p.m. to a new challenge and a new career, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. ross, for five minutes. mr. ross: i ask unanimous consent to address the house and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ross: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, yesterday i had the

distinguished opportunity to greet three bus loads of florida world war ii veterans participating in honor flight. in total, more than 80 proud floridians who bravely fought to free the world evil in world war ii had the wonderful opportunity to visit and reflect at their memorial. as a son of a world war ii veteran, i was blessed to have the opportunity to join my father as he participated in a previous honor flight just two years ago. although he has since passed on, i know he truly cherished this great experience. american veterans are the backbone of the freedom and prosperity this country has enjoyed for over the last 200 years. without their service, we would not be the nation we are today. we would not enjoy the privileges of this democracy, the greatest experiment in government known to mankind.

unfortunately, veterans across the country continue to encounter unacceptable problems in delays in receiving appointment from the veterans administration for essential medical and specialty health care needs. that is why i'm proud to introduce h.r. 241, the veterans timely access to health care act. this legislation, supported by the military officers association of america, will ensure that veterans seeking medical care from the v.a. facility receive an appointment within 30 days. moving forward, this legislation will go a long way n ensuring veterans with critical medical needs no longer slip through the cracks of the system. as i reflect on the many world war ii veterans, like my good friend charlie clark, whom i visited yesterday and with whom i have known for several years as a member of the local ymca, i look to ensure that our

younger veterans receive support and the timely access to health care that they have so honorably earned. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. speaker, monday in the blink of an eye, hundreds of people at the boston marathon were faced with an awful decision. none of them woke up that morning expecting whether they or a loved one was going to need emergency care in a life-threatening situation. we came to think of end of life care as the province of a terminally ill person, often elderly. but that's just one circumstance and not necessarily the most common. the decisions need to be made instantly about whether to amputate a limb and a decision must be made that moment. if a person is in shock or

unconscious, who helps make that decision for them? last week, i had two more circumstances where people in my life were faced with totally unexpected life-threatening circumstances that brought these questions into sharp perspective. how dy, anywhere, anytime, do we make sure that these decisions, which are made every day in every state in virtually every city are made in accordance with the best interests and wishes of the patient and the parbt's family? i've been working for the last five years for the federal government to be a better partner with families. it's called end of life care, and the federal government, the department of health and human services and congress are missing in action. medicare will spend billions of dollars on the most expensive, invasive, painful and in some

cases, if not unnecessary, at least questionable care. often, regardless of the wishes of the patient and their families. yet, medicare won't pay $100 or $200 for that medical professional to have a conversation with the patient and their family. it's time for us to step up. we need to make sure that we clear up the questions in everyone's minds about the choices, the consequences, what the patient and the family want and most critically make sure those wishes are honored. like my friend, whose heart stopped this weekend totally unexpectedly, we don't know when or where a loved one will be in this position. but there's no excuse that we don't do everything we can to help families and encourage everyone that is close to us that works with us to take their own steps to identify who

speaks for them when they can't and what they want to happen. this is personal for me. i had these jarring reminders that one of the greatest gifts each of us can give our families is to have a thoughtful and frank discussion about what our wishes would be for medical care if we're unable to suddenly make those decisions. it's also one of the greatest gifts that this congress can make to the people we represent by doing our job so that the federal government is a better partner in making sure those conversations are possible. please, co-sponsor our bipartisan personalize your health care act, h.r. 1173, and then sit down and have this conversation with your family. it's not always the easiest, but it is far better than king your loved ones guess

and feel guilty. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from puerto rico, mr. pierluisi, for five minutes. mr. pierluisi: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pierluisi: mr. speaker, in november, 2012, puerto rico held a referendum on its political status. the results demonstrated that a clear majority of the u.s. citizens of puerto rico want to end the island's current territory status. that the supermajority prefers statehood and that for the first time in history, more voters favor statehood than the current status. as i have remarked before, not a single one of my stateside colleagues in congress would accept territory status for their own constituents, so they must recognize and represent that the american citizens of

puerto rico no longer accept it either. i also trust that my colleagues who represent states will credit my constituents for aspiring to have the same rights and responsibilities as their constituents. last week, the president took an important step as part of the proposed budget the administration submitted to congress, the justice department is speaking $2.5 million to conduct the first federally sponsored vote on puerto rico's political status in the 115 years that the territory has been under the u.s. flag. the funding would be granted to the puerto rico elections commission to conduct objective voter education and a vote on options that would resolve puerto rico's future political status. key congressional leaders in the house and the senate, republican and democrat alike, have already issued statements of support for the president's action, calling it an

appropriate response to the local referendum. . my constituents may not have a vote in a government that makes national laws, but they do have a voice and they make that voice heard loud and clear in november. a budget reflects one's priorities and values. i support the president's budget because it shows respect for the democratically express the aspirations of the u.s. citizens that reside in puerto rico and it demonstrates a clear desire to move forward on this complex but critical issue. as the budget request states, the federally sponsored vote is to be one that would result for puerto rico's political status. the only way to resolve the status is through statehood or national sovereignty. puerto rico cannot resolve its status by maintaining the same undemocratic status that my people have endured since 1898, and that they soundly rejected

in november. the current status is the root cause of puerto rico's political, economic, and social problems, so it cannot be a solution to those problems. in addition, the budget language clearly states that the department of justice shall not provide funding until it certifies that the ballot and voter materials are consistent with the constitution, basic laws, and policies of the united states. the purpose of this language is to ensure that the ballot does not include impossible status proposals that have been repeatedly declared unworkable a matter of both law by the federal government. i am pleased the administration understands that true self-determination is a choice among option that is can be implemented, not an exercise in wishful thinking. the president's request represents one path forward, but it is important to underscore it that it is not the only path

forward. in the coming weeks i will introduce stand alone legislation on the status issue that will both complement president obama's request and reflect the undisputable fact that statehood won the november referendum. puerto rico stands in a far different place today than it did six months ago. an historic referendum was held. the president responded to the results and congress now has the responsibility to act. those who seek the equality and progress for puerto rico are on the forward march while those who support the same old status quote are in retreat would drive the debate, while they merely react to the debate. and in the end mindful that the arc of history's long bends the justice, i am confident we will prevail. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for ive minutes.

ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. let me first send my thoughts and prayers to the city of boston, families and friends and all those touched by yesterday's horrific tragedy. an incredible strength on full display in the streets of boston when untold numbers of people, the police, firefighters, volunteers, runners, and bystanders ran towards the explosions to try and help in any way they could without regard for their own safety. as we learn the details of this attack, let us remember that what makes us strong as a nation is the tremendous care that we have for our fellow americans, especially during the hardest time. this is a lesson that i learned deeply from my friend and mentor mardell, who died last week at the age of 101, and my heart and my prayers go out to her friends

and family. she was truly the godmother of east base progressive politics. the former city of berkeley vice mayor and eight-term councilmember was born and raised in jefferson, arkansas, as the granddaughter of slaves, she was passionate about justice and civil rights. after moving to berkeley in the 1940's, she became active in the anti-war movement, fought on behalf of the unions, advocated for hiv-aids awareness, and helped organize the free mandela movement. she was also the first elected official in the united states to add he vow kate for needle exchange programs. during her tenure as a berkeley elected official, she was instrumental in creating commissions, including the commission own labor -- on labor. when she retired at 92, she was the oldest elected official in california at that time. in 2007, the berkeley city council renamed city hall in her honor. she not only urged me to get involved in politics, but also

inspired my predecessor, congressman rondell, to run for congress. her understanding of the importance of investing in people won the solid support of voters in her district and across the country. i met her in the early 1970's while a student at college. she would widen my perspective on global politics during our travels around the world. she reinforced the idea we are all part of a global family, and what happens here in the united states affects our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world and vice versa. she was a personal friend, mentor, and confidant. mardell actually was a health aficionado. she was committed to educating seniors and the entire community on the benefits of healthy living. she went shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables, and you would often find her cooking nutritious meals at the west berkeley senior center. we walked the marina together where she talked to me about

acupuncture and natural recommend des like cayenne pepper and warm water for colds, and the importance of exercise. she was a woman of great faith. during the 1970's, we enjoyed attending the church for tomorrow, which formerly was the church for today. we went there together. and this is where i realized that her passion for service and justice was driven by her commitment to what she called doing the lord's work on this earth. she was a woman who understands that she had to have a comprehensive agenda, it just couldn't be a single issue like health care or seniors or peace and justice, but has to be about being committed to comprehensive and positive changes that seek to improve the lives of all americans. she worked at the berkeley co-op credit union. he she urged me as a young single student to buy a house because she reminded me over and over again that one's equity in one's home was the primary cap to the middle class and that was

the main way i could get the resources to take care of my kids and send them to school. a lesson we should teach our own children today. several years ago i tried to name the berk lee post office after her. while this body has the tradition of supporting post office bills in a bipartisan way, congressman steve king from iowa came to this floor and tried to tarnish her character. he brought up round of accusations and this body voted against naming the post office in my district after this great icon. i hope one day in her memory representative king will apologize to mardell and her family and the city of berkeley for such an unfair and unwarranted attack. she was deeply hurt by it but kept her head high and lived to see the city hall named after her. she refused to accept arbitrary limitations. one of the best things we all respected about her. she's one of the best examples how one person can make a difference. she was a fearless and inspirational woman who

tirelessly fought to make this world a fair and just place. she spoke to the voiceless and was such a staunch defender of our basic civil rights. i believe like many that mardell's legacy of over 70 years of service to berkeley, the east bay, nation, and world will inspire many to speak for the voices and stand up for justice both here in america and around the globe. i will deeply miss her wise counsel, love, and support. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from connecticut, mr. larson, for five minutes. mr. larson: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. larson: thank you, mr. speaker. our hearts as well go out to the victims and the families of those who were killed and

in boston on ed patriots day. this has been a very difficult time for our country. at that event in boston were families from newtown, connecticut, invited to celebrate patriots day in boston, the red sox play in the morning, the marathon takes place, families gather. and again america faces another tragedy. last week family members from newtown came to the hill to lobby congress, to ask congress what the president of the united states says asked of us both in the state of the union and in

.is two trips up to connecticut the president said, however you feel about the issue of gun violence, however you feel about we deserveamendment, , vote, both in the other body senate --in the senate, in here on the floor of the house of representatives. a vote not only for the 20 children and six teachers and administrators who died in that tragedy on december 14, but for and e in tucson and aurora on virtually every street in

cities all across the america where we have seen this needless and senseless violence take place. patriots day, another act of violence. strides are being made in the united states senate, compromise is being offered on something that 92% of the american people agree with. universal background checks. universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists. the united states of america is by adam, an ed american al qaeda on the

f.b.i.'s most wanted list who taunts america and says this, you can see it on buzz feed, america is absolutely awash with . sily attainable firearms large capacity clips. you can get them even without ny identification. this from the most wanted on the f.b.i. list. we need to vote in the united states congress. if these young children had the courage to go after their assailant, if the teachers stepped in the way to protect, does congress have the will and the courage to stand up and merely do what it was elected to do?

cast a vote in both chambers. cast a vote on behalf of the american people. cast a vote on behalf of these children, on behalf of these parents who have come here to besiege the united states its ess only to do responsibility, to do what we .ake the oath of office for 92% of the american people believe that we need universal background checks. we have to make sure that our body, both the senate and house, take up this legislation. in the aftermath of yet another tragedy on patriots day, the most patriotic thing we can do is vote.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, for five minutes. mr. holt: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. holt: mr. speaker, for centuries we have lauded the achievements of great entrepreneurs, whether the automobile industry of henry ford or the iphone of steve jobs , business was the province of people with money as the old cynical joke goes, banks would loan money only to people who don't need it. . living a dignified seemed an impossible dream for millions and millions. one person has helped transform the dream into a possibility, in fact, a reality of family sufficiency for people all over the planet. en the nobel committee

recognized mohammed, the nobel peace prize a few years back, the committee made the award, quote, for the efforts to create economic and social development from below. i'll phrase it differently. mohammed unis and the bank received the award for treating people with dignity and giving millions around the world hope. today in the rotunda, here at the u.s. capitol, we honor dr. unis with the congressional gold medal. he has shown us that being a visionary does not mean promoting impractical -- the impractical or the impossible. unlike some economic theories advanced over centuries, his to ries have been be proven work. he and his bank helped 9.4 million of the world's poorest

.eople receive microloans the bank has given loans of a few dollars by millions who by traditional standards are not orthy of credit. he flew in the face of conventional economic theory and certainly within banking practice but it worked. recipients paid back the loans and got ahead financially. he financial outreach to those below the poverty level has been life altering for women in nigeria, haiti, cambodia, peru. dr. yunus has inspired local efforts in dozens of nations, including our own. his life and testament are to the difference a single person can make here on work. dr. yunu s's legacy will be measured, not simply by the many awards he's won over his

career, such as we honor him with today, but by the current and future generations of people who will travel the road from prompt to success and sufficiency because of dr. yunu s's vision and commitment. he believes that we have the power to end poverty, not just alleviate it, but end it, and we should take him seriously. mohammad yunus has shown us how and is showing us now. i ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating dr. yunus for receiving the congressional gold medal today and giving thanks to him for making many, many lives around the world better. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, for five minutes. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to congratulate wblm

radio on 50 years of broadcasting. on april 1, 1963, wbon radio in chicago, illinois, was launched and since that time has gone from being the voice of the negro to the voice of the ation. owners of the successful music business, record store, was a plentiful supply of local music talent under their banner, such as muddy waters, wolf, jimmy reed and others, needed a way to express their music. therefore, the brothers bought hfc 1450 a.m., a 1,000-watt station licensed in cicero, illinois. on april 1, 1963, wvon hit the airwaves in chicago with a group of hand-picked personalities. franklin mccarthy, e. rodney

jones, herb kent, wesley south and pervis. they became known as the good ys, and rick ricardo, bill "butterball" crane, ed maloney, bill lee, isabel joseph johnson, emily fits hew eventually joined the roster. under the direction of the station's general manager, cky cardell and bern dean c. washington, the good guys hailed radio listeners hostage in chicago for a number of years. it became the hottest station in the market. not only did it convey music, but it also conveyed public information, public events, what was going on. it was the voice during the

civil rights movement and individuals were often given the opportunity. dr. martin luther king was interviewed by wesley south. elijah mohammed and others. these personalities became so informational and influential that during the riots after the death of dr. martin luther king, they called for calm and peace and people began to listen to them. they were very influential throughout what was called the civil rights movement and individuals often went to them. but they also had a relationship with berry gordy in detroit when he formed motown records and every time a record would come out, he would send it to the wvon station before sending it anyplace

else. wvon was actually instrumental in electing harold washington, the first black mayor of chicago. lou palmer, who had a radio series called "lou's notebook" had a slogan, we shall see in 83, and that became the rallying cry. it was also ininstrumental in electing carroll mosley braun, united states senator, electing barack obama, united states senate, and eventually electing barack obama, president of the united states of america. always more than a radio, it belonged to the community, was the heart of the community. so i congratulate melody spann cooper and all of those who made wvon what it is today. the voice of the nation. i thank you, mr. speaker, and yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today. and in the senate at this hour, work continues on gun control legislation. they will take a series of amendment votes beginning at 4:00 p.m. eastern. the first one on the

manchin-toomey amendment, dealing with expanding background checks for those seeking to purchase a gun. the a.p. writing this morning that bipartisan effort to expand background checks is in deep trouble as the senate approaches a long-awaited approach on the linchpin of the drive to curb gun violence. that's from the associated press. and senator manchin said on nbc, we will not get the votes today. those votes expected to begin at 4:00 p.m. eastern. follow senate coverage, of course, on c-span 2. and while the house is in recess, we're going to take you live now to the testimony of secretary of state john kerry. he's before the house foreign affairs committee this morning talking about his department's 2014 budget. it's the secretary's first committee appearance since being confirmed earlier this year. >> so my first question, mr. secretary, you know, as the administration focuses its foreign affairs budgets, how would you collaborate with

russia and turkey, what role will they play to balance the deepening of ties with the e.u. and asia while also, you know -- while working together with them, russia and turkey, on some strategic and mutual interest that we have? and lastly, mr. secretary, you know, i worked in the western hemisphere for a long period of time, and i would like a view of whether or not and how the administration is looking at the western hemisphere and i think in a post-cold war viewpoint? i, like anybody else, believe all votes should be counted. i wish all votes were counted in 2000. but it didn't happen here. but at any rate, how -- you know, working with our strategic partners, colombia, peru, brazil, they seem to be working with one another and connection with us because we see poverty beginning to be lowered there, what is our

overall policy of how is the foreign affairs budget, the state department budget would be prioritize in the entire region as opposed to just focusing on one country since they seem to be working together ever before? >> well, thank you very much, congressman meeks. i am very, very hopeful. i am planning a trip shortly to both colombia and brazil and other countries hopefully as time permits. we've had some issues, obviously, with argentina over some debt issues, repayment, so forth, which we need to work through. but, look, western hemisphere is our back yard. it's critical to us. too often countries in the western hemisphere think that the united states doesn't pay enough attention to them and on occasion it's probably been true. i think we need to reach out vigorously. we plan to. the president will be traveling to mexico very shortly.

other -- i can't many countries. he will be going. i will be going, other high-level visits. we'll try to do everything possible to try to change the attitude of a number of nations where we've had obviously sort of a breach in the relationship over the course of the last few years. the ttip and the t.p.p., i say to everybody here, are really critical to the united states as well as to europe and the pacific relationship. japan's very anxious to be involved in the t.t.p. they've taken steps to try to meet the standards. canada, new zealand and australia still need to make a decision about them coming in, but the hope is that we could get to the july negotiations with japan and really move forward on that. europe is very excited about the ttip, and turkey would also

like to have a negotiation that's parallel to the negotiation with respect to the ttip. so i think what we're seeing here is an enormous opening up of opportunity to raise the standards by which people have been trading to the highest common denominator, not the lowest, and to begin to open up new opportunities for growth in countries that are struggling right now to find that growth. so i think these are plus-plus, wins-wins for everybody. on turkey, russia, you know, russia, some people criticize and say, well, what happened to the reset? i think they're overlooking, are there counterreactions to some things? yes, there are. have we gone down into a lower moment of that relationship? yes. we have these fights over adoptions, over magnitsky.

russia has cooperated with us with respect to afghanistan in the northern route, which has been critical. russia has cooperated with us on the w.t.o., cooperated with us on iran, iran sanctions, on the u.n. resolution, cooperated with us on the dprk and cooperated with us on the start treaty. those are big-ticket items, so even though there have been some bumps in the road, i am very hopeful that we can move this relationship back to a more visibly completely constructive place and we need to work at it. i had a very good meeting in london. i've been invited to go to russia, which i'll do prior to the g-8, and i look forward to trying to work to do that. turkey has been tremendously cooperative and very positive in a number of different ways. the foreign minister and i have

a very good working relationship. i met with the prime minister a number of times already as secretary. they have pledged to be supportive of the middle east peace process. they are being supportive with respect to syria. they are hosting this meeting this saturday in an effort to bring the syria core group ogether. and turkey is talking with us with respect to both cyprus and another, two frozen conflicts where we need to break out of the past. and i think turkey is going to be a constructive player in those. so i look forward to productive relationship. >> we go now to dana rohrabacher, chairman of the europe, asia and emerging threats subcommittee. >> welcome aboard. >> thank you, sir. good to see you. how you doing? >> good to see you. worked together in a number of issues in the past. >> a lot of years. >> i got three specific things i'd like to ask you about very quickly. two of them very quickly,

anyway. number one, you've already been alerted in the hearing as to our concerns and you've expressed your concern about the m.e.k.'s vulnerable situation in camp liberty. we do know there was an attack february 8 -- last february, and eight people were killed, although many were wounded. that's -- we have asked them to take down the structures. asked them. the structures giving the protection have been taken down. the question is, are we going to hold the maliki government responsible for their safety? and if there is another attack and more of them are murdered, are we going to withdraw any of -- will the administration withdraw its request for aid to a regime that's murdering innocent refugees in a camp that we helped put there? that's number one. number two -- why don't you go ahead and answer number one. are we in any way pressure the

maliki regime on this issue? >> i raised this issue directly with the prime minister when i was there a couple weeks ago. we are deeply engaged in this. i am very concerned about the potential of another attack. e are trying very hard to find a place to resettle everybody. i tell you -- >> i want to say senator -- mr. secretary, i got two more questions that are -- >> go ahead. i'll just say to you, the answer is, yes, we are looking for accountability and we are working very hard to provide safety. >> accountability for the iraqi government is important on this issue. >> it's iranian government that i believe was behind the attacks. we need the iraqi government to help provide -- >> maliki's cozyness to the muleas in iran is -- mullahs in iran is disturbing. the administration is asking for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, military aid,

for pakistan. so we're asking for aid -- hundreds of millions of dollars -- billion dollars, in other aid to a government that is holding in prison the doctor who helped us bring to justice osama bin laden, a government that gave osama bin laden 10 years of safe haven. my question to you specifically is, how much longer are we going to rely on quiet diplomacy talking with the pakistanis about trying to free dr. afritty, who is an american hero, how long with this quiet diplomacy instead of just cutting off their aid? >> well, you know the old saying, dana, cutting off your nose to spite your face. cutting off aid to pakistan ould not be a good move.

certainly at this point in time. we are working with pakistan with nonproliferation. we are working with pakistan to get our supplies both in and out of afghanistan. pakistan has lost perhaps 50,000 people in the last year to terror. >> again, mr. secretary -- >> they have soldiers -- >> again, mr. secretary. they are the terrorist friends and here we are planning to give them millions of dollars and they have ended up giving some of our aid to terrorists who are killing us and the guy who tried to save us is languishing away in a dungeon. shame on us -- not you, mr. secretary -- shame on us if we ignore the doctor languishing away in a dungeon. >> we're not ignoring dr. afritti at all. elieve me, this discussion it's not as simple as holding

everything accountable to one thing where they -- they assert that there were certain laws that were broken. you know the arguments. that police indicates. >> i have one issue that's vitally important. i know you're new to the job. we wish you all the success. i do not believe that secretary of state hillary was honestly cooperative with this committee about benghazi. and you take a look, we have made request after request about, for example, just to get the list of the names of the people who were evacuated from benghazi, and we haven't even gotten that, much less some of the important questions. now i know the state department has flooded us with paper for some of the more insignificant things. mr. secretary, we think there was a cover-up of some kind of wrongdoing that led this administration to lie to the american people about the

nature of the attack immediately after the attack and for a week after that attack. we need to have these questions answered. we need to talk to the people who are on the scene. can you give us a commitment now that for this administration you will be coming up with the request, the honest request of this investigative request of this committee of who wasen evacuated and we can talk to so we can get an understanding of what happened in benghazi? >> well, before i became secretary, congressman, i believe i got the answers to who was evacuated and had a pretty good sense of what happened there. but now that i am the secretary and am responsible to you and the congress, i can promise you if you're not getting something that you have evidence of or you think you ought to be getting, we'll work with you. and i will appoint somebody to work directly with you starting tomorrow, with you, mr. chairman, to have a review of anything you don't think you've

gotten that you're supposed to get. let's get this done with, folks. >> thank you. >> let's figure out what it is that's missing, if it's legitimate or if it isn't. i don't think anybody lied to anybody. and let's find out exactly together what happened, because we need -- we got a lot more important things to move on to and get done. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary. >> mr. sires of new jersey. > thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, i'm sorry what happened in your state. i have three questions. one of them, can you give me the status we're making to release allen gross from cuba, what is our latest effort to have him released? and where are we with that? we have in new jersey a $1 million bounty on jo ann chesamar who has been living in cuba for many, many years. she's the person that shot a state trooper in new jersey and fled to cuba.

i wonder if you'll raise that issue and if there is some kind of conversation. the second question i have is, i represent a great deal of catholic christians in my district. it seems we are making a concerted effort to remove the 60 million captive christians in egypt. a couple weeks ago there were more murders in egypt and nothing seems to be being done. and the cuts we are going to -- >> do we anticipate any cuts to israel? >> do you anticipate any cuts? >> i'll get to that and then it.to we had a cut but that is subject to sequester, as is everything. we're not unable to do that. there will be a plossup and

then a reduction from the plusup. it's still in that plusup but there is a sequester that will apply to everything including jordan, egypt, everywhere. sequester, folks, was not supposed to happen. that was the theory. and we're living with it, and so we have cuts that we don't want. and that's the absence of making the policy choice itself. so, yes, there will be cuts in the sequester. now on alan gross, there's a lot of effort that's gone into that. senator leahy just came back. he was down there. he visited with alan gross and has talked to the government about it. they were and have been attempting to trade alan gross for the five spies that are imprisoned here in the united states and we've refused to do that because there's no equivalency. alan gross is wrongly mprisoned. we're trying to work this out

on a humanitarian basis. i'm personally engaged, as others are, i've had personal meetings before i became secretary trying to get alan gross out of there. and i hope that somehow we can -- i to the regime's guess i'll rephrase that. we'll find out if there is a humanitarian capacity or not because he does not belong in prison. he's sick. he's been there for three years and he ought to be released on a humanitarian basis. we'll continue to press it. chesimard? e >> i don't have the background. >> well, joanne killed a state trooper in new jersey and new jersey has a $1 million bounty and she's been living in cuba home free for the last 20-some-odd years after killing a state trooper in new jersey. >> let me get the file on that and see where we are and get

back to you on that. >> again, the catholic christians in egypt? >> they -- i have met with the president several times. i have raised the issue of protection. generally speaking if we've a ed issues there has been response. we're concerned about safety and security going forward. egypt is in -- you know, a very, very difficult state right now. there's no other way to describe it. and there are a number of within t play, not just egypt but in certain states within the vicinity are supporting groups that are creating problems. you've got the black box. you've got other groups that are being funded from outside, and we are trying very, very hard to move things towards a place of stability but is very

complicated because the muslim brotherhood obviously is -- raises questions of, you know, the willingness and readiness of people trying to work with it not just inside egypt but outside of egypt. they need to show the opposition and around the world with greater clarity that they're prepared to protect rights and prepared to provide security and prepared to be inclusive. we have been talking about the need for a broader base governance that is currently being provided. >> thank you, mr. secretary. thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. chabot, chair of the asia subcommittee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, with regards to north korea, the obama administration has thus far pursued a policy that some has referred to strategic patience. will e that kim jong-un

return to the negotiating table and return to denuclearization. we're in a situation where the current dictator has surpassed even his tyrant father and grandfather in unpredictability and recklessness. in a joint subcommittee hearing last week, i think most of our members agreed that the policy of strategic patience, if you want to call it that, has been a failure. i will get the questions out and then you can respond. the second is with reference to burma. certainly we've witnessed dramatic changes in that nation in the past two years, but i think we all agree there may well be some bumps in the road ahead. we applaud the reforms instituted thus far and certainly we're happy to see an emerging new political process last spring by elections, but we're also witnessing an escalation of ethnic violence. the military remains one of the most powerful actors in the country, and instead of working to curtail ethnic violence,

it's thought by many to actually be the perpetrator. it would appear that the president cannot keep his regional commanders under control in many instances. what steps will the administration be taking in its discussions with burmese officials to stress the continued progress in civil society and democracy building is preferable to a policy that could in fact lead to further ethnic strife and a potential civil war? and finally, as one of the co-founders of the congressional taiwan caucus, i'd like to talk about taiwan just for a minute. back in 2001, there was the announcement by president bush at the time of washington's willingness to cooperate with taiwan in acquiring eight diesel-electric submarines at a cost of $12 billion. the official position of taiwan's ministry of national

defense remains committed to procuring those submarines from the u.s. however, as the u.s. stopped making these diesel submarines many years ago, the sale has been stalled. i know we worked with france and some of our allies on this. could you advise what the current status of this submarines being acquired by taiwan is? and finally, you don't necessarily have to comment on this. if you'd like to you can, but former -- but the former president languishes today in a jail cell in taiwan. to me it smacks of the criminalization of politics. . stoot extent this administration communicates with the president i urge you to urge president mah to do the humanitarian thing, president chen's health is failing. i now yield to you, thank you. >> thank you, congressman.

i appreciate it. i'll take that and just follow up on it. let me see what we can do about that. on burma, you are absolutely correct. there will be bumps in the road. i hope not big ones. obviously things are happening today that were unimaginable a few years ago as the generals who are imprisoned are now standing -- who imprissed an an suu kyi are standing with her, but i'm worried about the minority up in the north wern corner who are -- northwestern corner. i can't sit here and tell you i know with confidence how this will play out, but we are constantly working to push it towards greater democratization, towards fulfillment of the promises on the table. that was the purpose of president obama's visit. i think it had an historic impact, and i think generally speaking we are moving in the

right direction. on north korea i would not describe our strategy as strategic patience, i call it strategic impatience. the conversations that i had in the region make it clear that we are not going down the same old road. we are not going to reward them and come to the table and get into some food deal without some pretty ironclad concept of how we are going forward on the denuclearization. i'm going to be candid with you. we have responded absolutely, i think, appropriately to the threats by making it clear that since guam was now potentially threatened or hawaii was potentially threatened, or even according to their biggest bragging that the continental united states could be reached, the president took the steps necessary that any president ought to take to make sure that you're not taking anything for granted.

so we have made it clear we will defend our allies and our friends and our interests. now, that said i think it's very clear for the last 15 or 20 years that the united states of america doesn't have direct influence with north korea other than the military threat. and that has huge risks and dangers with somebody as untested, as provocative, and already proven himself willing to be reckless over the course of the last months. china does have a relationship. china provides almost 3/4 of the fuel to the north. china is a significant banking conduit for the north. china provides significant food aid to the north. i think it's fair to say that without china north korea would collapse. therefore i think it is important for us to work with china. i think china has indicated its willingness to work with us.

now, they also are worried about instability, i understand that. china doesn't want to create greater instability on the korean peninsula or create a situation which from a humanitarian point of view they would inherent most of the problems with it. hope fully -- hopefully diplomacy will work here. that's the key. to work with the chinese to change the equation that is had a bad repetition syndrome of total reneging, complete failure, and increased nuclearization. we have to try to change that. >> go now to mr. connolly of virginia. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, mr. secretary. i'm sure you remember i was on the staff of the committee of foreign relations when you joined the committee on foreign relations in 1985 and worked with you for the next five years. i was also proud to head up kerry for president in the commonwealth of virginia where we carried or kerry in terms of

the democratic primary vote and i was also delegate to the democratic convention on your behalf that year. and now you're secretary of state and i'm here. > leading up to a big ask. >> that ambassadorship to switzerland is coming up -- i want to welcome you and congratulate you. i know you're going to be a historic secretary. i wanted to ask you about two things. i wonder if you would comment on a.i.d. some of us are very concerned, and as you may know how berman, former chairman of this committee, and i introduced a bill trying to -- howard berman, former chairman of this committee and i introduced a bill trying to focus the legislation, but in some ways aid over the years has been hollowed out. it was once a place of great expertise that lots of development is experts went to.

it has largely become a contracting management agency today, and i don't mean that to disparage, i think congress has a lot to do with that degradation, but shouldn't we be rebuilding a.i.d. to be the lead premier development agency of the united states government? i know you spent time when you were in the senate, mr. secretary, on that subject. i think we would all benefit from hearing your views. secondly, congratulations to you and to the president in trying to engineer a response between turkey and israel. i wonder if you would comment how that's going. i think that's a very important retionship -- relationship in terms of our policy in the middle east and i think it's very important that that relationship work. again would welcome your views on that broad subject. thank you. >> thank you. thank you very much, congressman. i am grateful for your friendship and support through the years, and thank you for being part of the staff early on

when i first game and i appreciate that kind of friendship. it's important. >> keep switzerland in mind, please. >> excuse me? >> i said thank you for that. but keep switzerland in mind, please. >> ok. a.i.d. is our lead and premier development agency. it really is. it does amazing things that a lot of people don't see in a lot of the parts of the world. there's an extraordinary amount of great work going on. you'll always hear about a flagship problem, it's easy to find the problem. and there will be problems, because some of what a.i.d. has to do is is be the development entity in places no one else will go. and sometimes invest in a place

where the economy is not where it would support necessarily a market solution, which is why a.i.d. has to be there. so you've got the millennium challenge corporation over here, a.i.d. as the preponderance of our expenditure, but it has adopted significant reforms in the last years that have actually movement some of the development challenge kinds of enterprize into a.i.d. wherever we can we are trying to do economic-based aid in a local way that is sustainable. and that will result in long-term gains, not a project that comes, and when the project's over the money's gone and there is nothing to show for it. but there are someplaces where you still have humanitarian demands and other demands that will not lend themselves to that, and we just need to understand that. we have to understand that's for the minimum -- minimalist

fraction of the percentage of our aid that may represent, it's still an expression of our values and interest and it's important. now we are -- i'm not going to sit here and tell this committee that the job is done. we are very focused on how we take the rest of the department, a.i.d., and bring it along further on this effort to sort of react to a changed world. and to change requirements. and i think you'll see that as we go through this next year in that ys in the programs we are developing and supporting. but rog shaw has done a great job of pressing the agenda. there are people who don't like it in someplaces. there's always resistance to reform. so we are going to push ahead, i can promise you, and i think you'll like the results as we go forward. ne quick thing if i can say,

it's a very important next step that will take place, the 17th, next week there will be a meeting between the israelis and the turks, that is the next step of the agreed upon road map, and hopefully that will resolve the compensation for victims and then there will be an exchange of ambassadors and we move to the fullness of the relationship that we are looking forward. i'm very hopeful that that can go forward without any hitch. >> we go down to mr. joe wilson of south carolina. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, thank you for being here. our sympathy and solidarity for your hometown of boston. as we proceed, in 1999 one of the achievements of the clinton administration was a nonproliferation agreement with the russian federation. as part of that there was the agreement to dispose of high grade plutonium instead of for

weapons to be made into fuel. and that resulted in a mixed fuel fabrication facility being built at the savannah river site in aiken, south carolina. sadly in the most recent budget the administration is reducing the funding for this -- the construction of the facility. it's 60% completed. it can indeed be such a great testimonial to the relationship that we have with the russian federation, fulfilling our agreements, but providing for fuel of what has been something that from an environmental standpoint, from a nonproliferation standpoint, all of it is just so positive. what do you see should be done? >> i just was asking because i was unfamiliar with that and i'm just told it's a d.o.e. issue which is why i'm not familiar with it. i didn't realize that cut had taken place. obviously from a macropolicy point of view, we are very supportive of the

nonproliferation initiative. i was very concerned about the russian suspension of a component of it recently. i hope that we will get back on track because that's been really one of the most constructive things i could think of in terms of nonproliferation in the last 50 years. >> it really is. i appreciate you recognizing that. it's virtually a joint d.o.e. and state. i hope you will look into that. >> the funding part of it is not. the policy part is. but i'm on it. >> additionally, secretary clinton was very positive in promoting trade. in the state of south carolina we have had the remarkable situation in the last two years becoming the leading export of cars of any state in the united states. b.m.w., the leading export of tires of any state in the united states, thanks to bridgestone, michelin. continental tire. we are very grateful for the investments in our state with g.e., westing house, boeing.

will you continue the policies promoting economic trade between our country and developing countries and countries all over the world. >> hugely. i said in my opening statement before the foreign relations committee, for my confirmation, that today -- in today's world, foreign policy is to a large degree economic policy. and i am deeply committed, i'm working right now to close out my appointments, the president's appointments, within the state department with respect to our economic effort. i personally believe this is how we are going to be able to do .hings is leverage assistance i wish we had more time. talk about a modern day martial plan if you will which is going -- marshal plan if you will which will involve the larger

sector. what these countries need are jobs for young people. masses of young people. so we need to try to find ways ttit and nk the others can help do that. in the west bank what i was about to describe earlier was that the prime minister netanyahu and and president abbas have agreed to this add on initiative of trying to bring the private sector to the table for rapid economic development, to really make a difference, as well as for some infrastructure. i think you can join both leverage development, create jobs, brings you stability. that's sort of the new model. i think we have to do a lot of work to try to develop it. >> another positive example has been the nuclear agreement that we have had with india. and hope to proceed with that energy which would be so important for that country to continue its development. i am also very grateful to be one of the very few members of

congress, including ranking member eliot engel, who have been to north korea. i saw a situation where it seems like to me it would be in interest, you already touched on this, it would be in the interest of china for a more rational existence to be there. they can already see the positive example of south korea, seoul actually through their investments employs 2% of the people in china. and i can imagine that north korean investments is nonexist inter. -- nonexistent. i hope you'll insist and point out what would be positive for china to see change in north korea. thank you. >> congressman, thanks for your thoughtful comments. >> we go to mr. deutch of florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman. pleasure to welcome you to the committee. i also add my thoughts and prayers to the city of boston. as well as the family of ann and her colleagues in the foreign service who continue to mourn

her loss. i'd also ask you, mr. secretary, as you begin your tenure that you continue to push for information about my constituent, robert levinson, now missing from iran for 2,230 days. i have a few questions to ask now. i'll submit some other questions for the record. for you to respond to. i'd like to first just point out bulgaria bus 's bombing was cared out by three hezbollah terrorists. last month a three-judge panel issued a decision and described the activities across europe, and the president when he was in israel recently was very clear in saying that every country that values justice should call hezbollah what it truly is, a terrorist organization. mr. secretary, i hope that you will continue to impress upon the europeans why it is so important that the e.u. designate hezbollah a terrorist organization.

i'd like to also touch on -- follow up on something you said earlier. you said you thought the window for a two-state solution is shutting. there is perhaps 1 1/2 or two more years or it's over. i would just ask if that's -- if you believe that to be the case, i just hope that you will press prime minister abbas, president abbas, on preparing his people for peace. if there is this short window that's left, why is it that there is not more focus on negotiations that he continues to impose conditions that rather than focusing on negotiations, much time was lost as he bypass negotiation to go to the united nations. statements that could be made to help stop incitement. there is an awful lot that can be done and i hope when i'm

finished you'll speak to that. finally, i would like to talk about iran sanctions and follow up on something that my colleague said earlier. he talked about significant reductions and i would acknowledge that under section 1245-d of the defense authorization act, a waiver sanctions can be granted if the president makes a determination and reports to congress that a country has significantly reduced its volume of crude oil purchases. now, because of the sanctions, iran's oil exports have dropped by 60% over the past year. i commend state department greatly, and this administration, for doing what it had to do to get countries to comply. in december waivers for china and several other cooperating countries were renewed for another 180 days, but over the past three months, china's imports of iranian crude have steadily increased, as i understand it, from 354,000 barrels per day in february, to 415,000 barrels per day in

april. i would ask you, mr. secretary, what constitutes significant reduction? and shouldn't significant reduction be defined differently at this point given where the iranians are in their nuclear program? and with the add digsal now outside information that iraq is producing three million barrels more per day. libya's production has been restored to prerevolution to s, what are we doing toourage the other countries do more so that oil production, oil importation is really reduced. i am grateful for the state department's effort, but given where we are and given the timing, it seems that before waiving sanctions, again, there should be much more done and expected of our -- of the chinese in terms of real reduction. if you could speak to that, i

would be grateful as well. >> what i want to do is send you the statistics that show you i. don't have them here now, but i'll get them to you with respect to the china question, there's a point where these reductions become very, very -- i just say it's not an excuse, but there is a point where these reductions become not only very difficult for a particular country to go beyond a certain point, but also where they have an impact on the global price. so if you want the price to go up here, you can have the chinese buying oil from somewhere is else because they can't get it where they are getting it now, and you are going to see price changes that may have everybody screaming as the summer comes. so things are interconnected, but i will nevertheless show you that is is not-dirnl' not saying the reason for doing it, there has been in that reduction, and i'll give you the stats. let me come back, two questions

-- three you asked about. levinson, i have actually engaged in some back channel diplomacy in an effort to try to see if we can get something done there. that has been raised at very high levels. it is not a forgotten issue by any means. we are on it. on the hezbollah, every conversation i had in europe and elsewhere i urge the labeling as a terrorist organization. because it is. and i emphasize to our european friends, particularly the importance of that in terms of giving us greater financial tools to be ablele to restrict the flow of financing that allows them to engage in these activities. and finally, on the two-state solution, the hurdle we have to get over here, part of the difficulty is, the level of mistrust on both sides is gigantic. president abbas deep down is not

convinced, and that may be a light word for it, that prime minister netanyahu or israel are ever going to give them a state. and on the other side, israel's not convinced that palestinians and others are ever going to give them the security they need. so we have to find an equation here, folks, where we can try to disspell those -- disspell those years of mistrust and get both sides to understand both things are possible. that's as far as i'm going to go in terms of talking about the challenge here, but i think that that's the complication and we are trying to undo years of failure. i think one can. i believe we k it's got to go carefully step by step. >> mr. mccaul, chairman of the homeland security committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, congratulations on your new assignment. i know you will continue to

erve the country well. my condolences to the people in boston. i plan to visit on friday. i think the response efforts of the bosston police department, fire department, the people of boston is a true inspiration and makes me proud to be an american. >> thank you. >> my question has to do with benghazi. earlier this year secretary clinton testified, and i asked her about a classified state department cable mearked secret from ambassador stevens to the state department on august 16. in that cable he essentially warns the benghazi conflict could not withstand a coordinated attack. that's a quote-unquote. the regional security officer believed that our consulate could not be protected as an emergency meeting, which is a very extraordinary thing, less than a month before the attack

on september 11. a contingency plan was supposedly drafted to move the consulate operations to an annex about a mile away. this cable came on the heels of three significant events. one, april 6, 2012, a crude i.e.d. was thrown over the wall of the u.s. facility in benghazi. may 22, the red cross building mortars.y two rpge and june 6, the u.s. consulate in benghazi was targeted by an i.e.d. attack that blew a hole in the perimeter wall at the benghazi consulate. again the brigade of the blind chic -- sikh took credit for it. in written questions after the hearing, i asked the secretary who in the state department saw this cable and what specific actions were taken in response? i was disappointed, quite frankly, with a response. and i hope can you do better.

her response simply identified personnel in the bureau of diplomatic security and the bureau of near eastern affairs as having reviewed the cable. but it did not say who. received the cable specifically and what specific actions were taken in response to what i consider to be a cry for help from our ambassador to our state department in washington that possibly could have prevented that tragic event from occurring. mr. secretary, can you tell me which individual or individuals saw this table and what specific actions were taken? >> i can't tell you which one reviewed it because there is a process going on right now which is supposed to come to me very short -- shortly which is an internal review and analysis of who did what and who may have or may not have made the right

judgment or no judgment or whatever. and i have to act on that. so i have not seen that yet. and i don't want to -- i'm not going to prejudice anything that i have to do here. i think the chairman raised the issue of people still working. there is a process. there is due process. there is an administrative internal process. it will come to me and i will have to make some kind of a decision. i'm not even sure exactly what the parameters of that are yet because i have waited until it's ripe and comes to me. but i know that it is coming and i'll then know exactly who made what decision or didn't and i'll have some responsibility to act one way or the other regarding it. >> i appreciate that. can i have your assurance you will let this committee know which individuals actually received that cable? >> sure. >> and what response was taken? >> you have a right to know. >> i certainly appreciate that. one last question, this is sort of a mixture of state department and the department of homeland security, but recently the

global entry program was offered to saudi arabia. saudi arabia's where 15 of the 19 high jackers came out of. i can't think of any greater threat to aviation security than the saudi peninsula with yemen right south of saudi arabia. for the life of me i don't understand why saudi was given preferential treatment over our nato allies who fought alongside with our soldiers and fought and died and were wounded in iraq and afghanistan. instead of rewarding nato, our nato allies with this global entry, we are rewarding saudi arabia. i personally, i'm not trying to be political here, i think it's a dangerous policy. it could result in american ives being killed.

>> i'm just trying to determine, i apologize, i'm trying to determine who actually makes the final decision on that. and i'm told it's an interagency process. which is -- doesn't satisfy me and won't satisfy you. i need to find out where that final decision gets made. but, i want to say this in fairness, saudi arabia has cooperated with us and is cooperating with us in extraordinary ways. there are plots that we have uncovered that have never come to light and won't and shouldn't because of saudi arabia's assistance. saudi arabia's providing invaluable assistance in the counterterrorism efforts in the arabian peninsula.

and saudi arabia has an extremely effective and has entered into with us a major capacity to vet, to determine the security. as you know, in the global entry program, you go through a huge background analysis and check. plus, you have major biometrics that are a component of it. i went through this a year ago or so-so i could join it. and i remember every fingerprint, every aspect of you is problemmle to guised so you wind up with a pretty good sense of who is who. i personally have confidence in the capacity of saudi arabia to do that. i think i wouldn't prejudice them auth matically by virtue of what happened. i'd -- automatically by virtue of what happened. >> i agree. i will say the saudis have been extraordinary allies with respect to intelligence. i agree with you on that point.

i do think it merits review by your department as well. >> i'll check out on the final review. i have great confidence in the saudi arabia contribution. the kingdom has been helpful in any number of ways. >> mr. secretary, going back to your earlier comment as you referenced the benghazi review, can you provide us a copy of that internal review once it's completed? >> i don't know. honestly i don't know whether there is a privacy internal administrative restriction we all have given through congress. i don't know what the law is. >> we will make a request on that. and appreciate your follow-up on it. we go now to karen bass of california. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to congratulate secretary kerry on your appointment and also join my colleagues in expressing my condolences.

i look forward to working with you and especially working with the committed women and men at the state department. i have to tell you that i have really enjoyed working directly with the state department and i'm honored to have an excellent pearson fellow in my office who i am looking forward to continue to work with me. as the ranking member of the africa subcommittee, i wanted to share with you several priority issues i hope you'll consider. first of all u.s.-africa trade relations. number two, the importance of development assistance programs, including global hiv-aids funding through pet far. and number three, support for peacekeeping operation. as you know the u.n. is considering establishing a peacekeeping force in mali, and there is already a substantial peacekeeping mission in the d.r.c. i know you are aware six of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world are located in sub-saharan africa, and it is my hope to the extent possible that the state department will prioritize trade with the

african nations. you should know that we have a bipartisan, bicameral effort working in conjunction with chairman smith to quickly put forward a renewal of the africa growth and opportunity act. so i have four questions i'd like to ask you. i wanted to know what steps are you taking to focus on africa's extraordinary growth potential? what are your thoughts about the u.s. appointing a special envoy to the d.r.c.? does the request for peacekeeping operations accurately reflect the growing needs on the continent? and can you comment on the significance of the 6% cuts to hiv-aids funding. >> let me emphasize first of all that we are really pleased that pepfar was able to be held

whole. i think that's vital. i have personally visited, i was in durbin, north of durbin in the mountains watching how that program is being effectively administered and the difference it has made. we are looking at, as secretary clinton said when she testified, we have the potential to have an aids free generation as a result of what we have done. and we should be very, very proud of that. that will continue completely. with respect to the d.r.c., the answer is, yes. we are going to appoint a great lakes special envoy in short order. i think you'll be very pleased with the president's choice. that is also caught up in the vetting process right now. but i'm very anxious to do that because i believe that without a great deal of input, one could deal with m-23 and encourage rwanda to perhaps take a different approach, help

president kabila to be able to deliver better governance. there is a lot we can do but we have got to be able to be there and engaged. in that end to answer to your question is the level of funding sufficient? the answer is it's what we can ask is for under the budget constraints we are living with. but i don't think anybody should kid themselves that we are stepping up to do what is is possible and what is perhaps morally critical with respect to developing an indigenous african capacity to respond through the a.u. or otherwise to some of these crisis. as you know we have a number of . n. efforts there now they are just not yet sufficient to be able to do the job. so we have some development work to do. and it would be such a return on investment, because a lot of this violence is thugism.

it's just crime cals. who run around and unleashed. if we have the ability to be able to provide some order, i think we could do more for economic development and peace. >> absolutely. mr. secretary, before i finish, i really think that we need to just change our perspective and how we view the continent. with some of the world's fastest growing economies on the continent, i would like for you to address the significance or priority -- >> six of the 10 or 12 fastest growing countries in the world are in africa. and i want to say to our colleagues here, we all are concerned about our economic future. china is investing more in africa than we are. and we need to -- it doesn't have to be zero sum game, but we ought to recognize where our future economic interests and capacity may lie, and i think that's why these investments are so small against the return on investment in the long run. and africa, we need to be deeply

engaged in and intend to be. the president will travel there. we have a lot to do. >> thank you. >> we'll go to judge poe, chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism nonproliferation, and trade. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. secretary. for being here. i want to first of all thank you for your help last year on the foreign aid transparency act. i think we can -- if we get this passed this year, it will do a lot to explain to the american public why we give foreign assistance if it's held accountable by some type of legislation. thank you for your work on that. i want to talk about, if i have time, four different issues. north korea, benghazi, the m.e.k., and also pakistan. i read recently that when you were in china that you suggested the united states would reduce our missile defense system in asia for exchange -- in exchange for chinese help with north

korea. it seems to me even though we are being threatened by nuclear attack by the north korean government, first of all is that an accurate statement? if so, explain that if you would. >> no. not an accurate statement. i think it was corrected while i was over there. there was reporting to that effect. what i -- there was no offer, no deal, no contemplation of it. what i did say publicly and i'll say it again, is that the president took specific deployment steps of missile defense in direct response to north korea. and it stands to reason that if the north korean threat disappears, there would be a logical question of whether or not that same level of deployment is necessary. all i stated was a sort of fact based on the rationale of the deployment itself. >> do you think that the united states should give aid to north korea of some type to temper

their saber rattling, which they seem to do, about this time every year? >> no. >> all right. thank you for those comments. i'm glad i agree with you totally. i just want to clear that up for he record. also as all have said regarding boston and chairman mccaul especially, the act -- activity of our first responders was textbook, but also the people. how they came out of the stands, down the street to help other wounded and critically wounded citizens. and not citizens at well. people from all over the world. i especially am encouraged by the cowboy from costa rica that is now an american citizen, how he helped with one of the runners. that's what some of the best part of america is the people. you mentioned bringing those perpetrators to justice and they

will be brought to justice, but buttressing in on benghazi, it's been seven months since that attack. people are frustrated. members of congress are even frustrated. they want several hundred want a select committee to study benghazi. of course many of them aren't on any committee of jurisdiction, but they want a committee. i hear comments all the time, why haven't we captured somebody that did these bad things in benghazi? reports indicate that the libyan government really won't do anything because -- reportedly, some of the groups, the militia groups that support the libyan government may be involved in the attack. would you comment on that if you can? >> i don't have any knowledge whatsoever. let me just say one of the first thing i did when i came in was call director mueller at the f.b.i. to get an update on this. because obviously we -- there is

no familiar in america -- family in america that wants justice than the state department family, believe me. so i wanted to know where we are. and i think we are making progress. now, there's video as you-all know. we have identified people. and they are building a case. we are going through the tedious, laborious, and very difficult process of gaining evidence from the part of the country which is dangerous. and working in a place where the standards are different and the expectations are different. we are working through that. but i can guarantee you this. i think all of you know because of bob mueller's service, and the extra years that people passed a law to allow him to serve, there is no more dedicated or capable leader of the f.b.i. and there is nobody more committed to do this. i have confidence in that. i also have confidence in

something else. this president of the united states made it clear once before that he would do what was necessary to bring somebody to justice. and i guarantee you he has made it clear yet again that we will find justice here. and the president will do what is necessary. our hope is to work with the libyan government and do this through a process. >> i'll submit further questions for the record, mr. chairman. >> go to william keating of massachusetts. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. secretary, for being here. i know that both of us, although we are here, part of us are still back home in massachusetts this morning. getting to the theme of this morning's hearing, your theme of small smart investments is right on point. i couldn't agree with it more. one of those areas that the administration and you have been involved with and -- personally and secretary clinton had been

involved with has been really dealing with issues like national action plan for women peace and security in the world. i think that we can approach the broader issues of poverty and the rule of law and education and health care around the world without dealing with these issues. they are core to any advancement in that area. and furthermore i think they are the smartest way to make some of these investments. for our dollar and to be effective. so i'd like you to just do two things, if you could comment on. one is, generally comment on your ability to deal with these gender equality advancement issues with women around the world, and number two, particularly, gender-based violence, you know it in your capacity, knew it when you were they cutor, as i did, know no borders or bounds when are you dealing with violence based on gender-based violence.

internationally the violence that so many women experience take many different forms. from rape to early forced marriage to traditional practices that occur. such as genital mutilation, honor killings, acid violence, sexual violence. i could go on and on and on. could you comment on the department's first time ever strategy to prevent and respond to gerned-based violence globally? those are the two things i'd like you to comment on. >> thank you, congressman. good to see you. thanks for our shared feelings about what's happened up in boston. secretary clinton did a terrific job of putting this issue squarely on everybody's agenda, and i'm determined to make certain that we live up to that

standard if not exceed it. and i think we are in a good start to do that in terms of trafficking issues and other things, but in london last week t the g-8 ministers meeting, foreign minister hague of great britain made the centerpiece of our meeting sexual violence as an instrument of war. and we have -- had a meeting, we had outside is representatives come in who helped to raise the profile of that. it was a veryment valuable moment for people to realize this is going to be held accountable as a war crime. and that we are going to keep this gender-based violence front and certainty as we go forward. i would also say to everybody, when i was in afghanistan a couple weeks ago, when ann

submitting who have was my control officer, she helped put together a remarkable meeting of 10 entrepreneurs, 10 women in afghanistan who are struggling against all of the resistance, culturally and historically, in that country to stand up and start businesses and help girls go to school, help women be able to be entrepreneurs. a remarkable process. and the courage that they exhibited deserves everybody's support. it will certainly get ours in the state department. we are going to continue this in many, many different ways over the course of the next year. i think you'll see us continue it. >> thank you. in terms of accountability, mr. secretary, could that also include some conditions that might be tied to aid from time to time? to some extent. >> congressman, there are someplaces that i think lend themselves to that kind of condition at, and there are others that just don't.

i don't think there's a blanket cover all way of explaining a set of standards that's going to apply everywhere. in some countries the standards actually could be counterproductive and you don't get done what you're trying to do. it depends on what is the package, what's the nature of the program, and i think you have to be pretty customized in that approach. >> thank you. mr. chairman, as i turn it back to you, i do want to thank the members of the committee as well . as the members i have been talking to on the floor for their genuine and heartfelt concern about what's occurring in boston. i know we are all in this together. i want to thank the secretary for his remarks. >> thank you very much, congressman. >> thank you, mr. keating. we go now to matt salmon, chairman of the western hemisphere subcommittee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, welcome. first of all i'd like to submit several written questions that were put together by 700 retired

special forces operators that are in regard to benghazi. and i just like a written response on that. also, you've urged us to review the video from the attack of that night. we have asked that -- requested that video but the department has not provided it. >> we don't have it. think it's -- i saw it in a classified briefing. i believe it may be the agency or something. >> would it be possible for you to take measures to ensure we do get it? a i'll try to find out where it is and what the deal s i'm surprised. >> we have requested that video, but it's not been provided. >> we had an all members briefing, i'm reminded, in the senate, it was shown there. >> in the house there was? >> there was an awe members briefing in the house, apparently, which did show it. >> if we could get that as a committee it would be extremely

helpful. >> mr. chairman, do you know which committee would have hosted that? all members? aybe the leadership did. every member who was there saw it. if you haven't seen it i'm sure people will make arrangements. >> i have a few questions regarding the western hemisphere and energy issues. as the chairman mentioned, i am eat chairman of the western hemisphere committee. and i'm very interested in what the next move is going to be from the administration regarding the xl pipeline. i believe it's been coumented over and over and over again the jobs that that will produce. the benefit to our economy. your state department has said that there is no significant greenhouse gas issues with it or problems with regard to global warming. and so i'm kind of wondering why

the administration continues to stall on that. also regarding liquid natural gas, we have an over abundance of l.n.g. in this country, and a great opportunity to export, especially to the caribbean. with the current economic problems in venezuela and i think their diminished capacity to provide this great commodity, we have a phenomenal opportunity, again, to provide jobs in the united states and export the president said he wants to double our exports over the next five years. i wholeheartedly endorse that idea. it's wonderful. here's an opportunity to actually put our money where our mouth is. i'm wondering what it's going to take to get the department of energy to get off the dime on issuing these permits so that we can get on with exporting that, especially to the caribbean. and finally, i am a strong supporter of the transcontinental carbon --

hydrocarbon agreement with mexico. it can provide another wonderful opportunity for the united states and america to enter in a great economic joint venture, as well as make the western hemisphere energy independent, which i think is a great goal. we have some great opportunities, i think, to do economic activities with our partners here in the western hemisphere, but i think it's time for us to move forward with that. i have met with some of your personnel and they have submitted language that's acceptable. i'd like all hands on deck from your department to help get that done now. thank you. > thank you very much, mr. chairman. i -- let me begin by saying first of all there is no, i assure you, there is no stalling going on. the law is being followed. wire just following the law. we have a procedure that has to

do the e.i.s., it was appropriately contracted out, e.i.s. was done, then we have a public reporting period. that public reporting period is going on right now. then after the public reporting period there is an option. it's all under the law. to perhaps get more information if there is some reason the public comment required it, there is a determination the public interest, and ultimately the decision will come to me. it's not ripe. it's not there. and i am staying as far away from that as i can now so that when the appropriate time comes to me, i'm not getting information from any place i shouldn't be and i'm not getting engaged in the debate at a time that i shouldn't be. we are following the legal procedure that is required. i assure you. secondly, regarding l.n.g. and so forth. look, i spent a lot of time on energy and climate and so forth when i was in the senate, and i

would love to see the western hemisphere be energy independent. it's not a dream. it's conceivable it could happen. you and i might have a slightly different sense of what the mix of energy ought to be, and you you -- and how you might achieve it, but it's doable. and i think it's worth us trying to proceed it. i think there is a canada-u.s.-mexico slash latin america entral component to this which is worth exploring. i'm prepared to do that. >> we go now to mr. cicilline of rhode island for five minutes. afterwards we'll go to three minutes per member. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, mr. secretary, thank you for your continuing service to our nation. i, too, want to extend my condolences to you for the recent loss at the state department. i know i speak for all rhode islanders when i extend our condolences for the residents of the city of boston and

massachusetts. and express that they will continue to remain in our thoughts and prayers. i'd like to also add my voice to the priorities set forth by my colleague, congresswoman bass about the continent of africa and being engaged in that region of the world. pleased to hear that response. with your indulgence i'll submit written questions with respect to the status of the implementation of the recommendations of the accountability review board as they relate to diplomatic security. question regarding the waiver program for portugal, and the air force base in the azores and mitt gating the impact there. and question regarding armenia. question about our long-standing relationship with greece. and finally the state department's role in protecting lgbt individuals, human rights of those individuals around the world. i'd like to ask you is today, mr. secretary, to speak to two specific areas.

syria and north korea. as you know, mr. secretary, over a million refugees are currently left syria. at the kuwait conference in january pledges were made of $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance, but only a small percentage of countries have made that pledge have fulfilled their pledges. i'd like to you speak to what efforts are under way to ensure that kuwait, saudi arabia, and the u.a.e. in particular are making good on their commitments and what coordination is under way with donor countries to ensure that the assistance is reaching the affected individuals? i'd also like your thoughts on whether or not we are considering closing the syrian embassy here in the united states and what the rationale of keeping that relationship ongoing. and finally, on the issue of syria, i'd like to speak about what efforts are being made with respect to protecting syrian girls and women and the refugee

cams. we have seen some recent reports, again, that talk about sexual violence. the exchange of money for family members in exchange for young women being forced to marry. so the sexual violence in these refugee camps is a particularly important issue. secondly, i ask you to talk a little bit about what your recent trip to seoul and tokyo might have contributed to your thinking about what's happening on the korean peninsula. what's your assessment of what could happen, what we might be able to do as members of congress to help bring stability to that region of the world and to protect american national security interests on the korean peninsula. >> thank you, congressman. good to see you again. a-- i appreciate the questions. on syria let me say quickly we are really in touch very directly with these donor countries. as i said, we have given $385

illion to the refugee issue. we are nearing the million mark ver the fourth largest city in jordan today is a tent city, a refugee camp. you can imagine the destabilizing impact and the problems with the jordanians who have other issues and challenges economically. this is a big deal. in lebanon you don't have camps. in lebanon the refugees are spread throughout the country, but the estimates are they may be as much as 10% to 20% add on in terms of population, and then in turkey you have very significant numbers of refugees in addition. you also have displaced persons within syria itself. o this is reaching a major humanitarian crisis level, and it's one of the reasons why we are going to meet in istanbul

this weekend is some of the donor countries will be there, but none of us want to sit around and simply see this refugee crisis grow and grow and ultimately wind up with an implosion of the country itself. that may happen. i'm not going to sit here and tell you that we can prevent that. but the best shot at preventing it is to try to get to the negotiating table to get the geneva communique implemented so that you can save the institutions of the state, not wind up with an enclave estate with huge instability and problems with extremist groups that have grown stronger as a result of this conflict. so time is our enemy. sooner is better in terms of getting to the tabling and conceivably getting some agreement. just very quickly because i know the gavel's rung, on north korea and the peninsula, repeat again, president park has a new policy called trust politic. and she wants to reach out to the north. she obviously can't do that in

the middle of this kind of process. my hope would be that the chinese will come to the table in way they never have before. that we can work with the chinese to redefine what's in all of our interests. which is a kind of stability in the peninsula, moving north to denuclearization, and ultimately hopefully an integration into the community of nations based on economic reform which china, the united states, others could become engaged in. that could ultimately even open up the possibility of president park's outreach to be able to have an impact. absent china coming to that table, i believe kim jong il cal clates that i could get away -- calculates that coy get away with anything if china doesn't hold me accountable. that's where we are. >> mr. adam kinzinger of illinois. >> thank you for being here, mr.

secretary. since my time's been cut down i wanted to make a few brief comments and a couple of very brief questions. first off i want to say i was one of six republicans to support the president in libya. i supported the decision to go in there. i think it was the right thing to do. i believe you had mentioned in your testimony and the strength of america and that america cannot retreat from the world even at times when we face tough budgets and everything else. and i'm glad to hear you say that. where i was dismayed in the libya situation, though, and what i have seen since then, is this idea of america leading from behind. and it's a strategy that i know was mentioned a couple times in passing, but i worry that we are now trying to, as a nation, be more of a leader from behind. i believe personally that when america retreats from the world, or retreats from the leadership role in the world, that chaos ensues. so it's an area -- i want you to address that but i want to make a couple of other quick comments. you mentioned i think in one of your -- senate confirmation

hearing that you hear from diplomats they wonder if the united states can continue to deliver. and i appreciate that. i wonder if that is related to the new strategy of leading from behind and not necessarily a financial issue. i believe one of the greatest mistakes we have made in the last few years was not leaving a leave behind force in iraq. i believe now what we are going -- >> you can continue to watch this hearing live onlynn at c-span.org. we take you live to the house floor who come in to begin debate on a security bill. rabb silvers, from boca raton, florida. the chaplain: eternal god, we children of humanity pray to you by many name bus in our heart we know you as one. you create a common bond between us. though your absolute truth eludes us, we strive to be more

like you and carry out your will for humanity that we live together in peace. though some seek to disrupt the peace and deprive us of our very lives as we witnessed on monday in boston, we pray, o god, that their actions be thwarted and you can't to shelter us with your canopy of peace. send healing for wod i -- body and soul, god, to the victims of this action. keep in your loving embrace the souls of those who lost their lifes. we pray that those who do harm will be brought to justice and you instill in all peoples everywhere a love of humanity, a las vegas and respect for each human being created in your divine image. help us realize that each of us holds a glimpse of commg greater. we need your gifts of wisdom to find partners even in surprising and unlikely places with whom we must work together

to benefit our country and world. we turn to you to find accord in these times of challenge. may it be your will that in recognizing the unity of the divine, they will strive to foster a unity among themselves for the sake of this great neigh. joining together, we say the hebrew word affirming faith, faith in each other, continued faith in humanity and faith in the holiness beyond us. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces ott to the hougs his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford. mr. lankford: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman from florida is recognized, mr. deutch, for one minute. mr. deutch: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm proud to have the opportunity to welcome one of my constituents, rabbi robert silvers of boca raton, florida, as he offered the opening prayer here today. he's a leader in the jewish community in south florida. his life epitomizes the jewish tradition of bettering the world. his impact is felt well beyond the 1,200 families of his congregation, with pastoral care he provides not only to his own congregation but to the greatest community as a volunteer chaplain for the palm beach county sheriff's office he has served in the greater boca raton religious leaders coalition, he has been part of interfaith dialogue throughout

south florida. i'm proud to call the rabbi and his wife friends and i thank him for delivering this meaningful prayer. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain 1 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as we gather today in this house, just as we opened it with prayer, prayer to remember those families, those children, those runners, those spectators that were lost in boston. as i watched that horrific incident of the bomb, i paused for a moment and at the same time i saw this tragic incident, i also saw the spirit of america. mr. mccarthy: the spirit of america was with those individuals who rushed in to help. not knowing whether they'd be injured or not.

not knowing what would happen to them but they rushed to help one another. and i want this body to instill that same american spirit that we bound together that we will remember those who were lost but more important, we will bring to justice this action and that we will be stronger in the end as a nation and that we will never forget those who were lost. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from california is ecognized. >> imagine what the front page of the "boston globe" should have looked like yesterday, marathon winners jubilantly accepting medals, throngs of people crossing the finish line, bystanders passing out gatorade, families and friends cheering on loved up withs.

ms. chu: instead it depicted a war zone this vicious, senseless attack left nearly 00 people injured, some critically, and three dead. my heart breabs for everyone affected and justice must be served. but even this dark act couldn't blot out the examples of love, compassion, and selflessness on display. volunteers and officers raced to aid blast victims. marathon runners continued running, straight to the nearest hospital to donate blood and thousands of people opened their homes to athletes who had nowhere else to go. these are the stories that define us as a nation. this is the spirit that no terrorist attack will break. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? >> i do. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to draw attention to cutting edge resedge now under way at the charles c. gates center for medicine at stem cell resedge at the university of colorado in aurora. mr. coughman: our nation -- mr. coffman: our nation cannot maintain adequate blood supplies. a collaborative effort at the geats center at the university of colorado -- at the gates center at the university of cause rapid growth of stesm cells. this means that soon there will be an ability to culture adult blood stem cells in an almost indefinite manner this research is being funded with pure re--

peer reviewed grants from n.i.h. and they have joined a consortium to further help develop the red blood cell program. i am very hopeful that the research at the charles c. gates center and i urge support their efforts. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. ackson lee: today, speaker, the other body has an opportunity to do what 90% of the american people would like us to do. to be prayerful, to come together, to respond to the horrific siege of gun violence in america. it is important to note that on average, 13 young people from ages 10 to 24 are victims of

homicide every day. 82.8% of these youths are killed by a gun. every 30 minutes a child or teenager in america is injured by a gun. every three hours and 15 minutes a child or teenager loses their life with a firearm and in 2010, 28 children under the ages of 5 -- 82 children under the age of 5 lost their lives due to gun. 58 law enforcement lost their lives. so today, we don't have to violate the second amendment. as i said, we can be prayerful. we can pass universal background checks. the same thing we do with registering our cars. getting licenses. this is a time for america to rise to our higher angels and do what our children need them to do. i ask the senate to challenge its conscience and to vote for universal background checks to stop the violence. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. lankford: a historic red brick building in philadelphia, a man and his staff performed thousands of abortions, which led to a murder trial currently under way. some children were torn apart with surgical instruments in the womb, some women were given abortion inducing drugs and seated on a toilet until they deliver into the toilet. other women had labor induced and when they delivered, the surgeon flipped the child over and clipped their spinal cord. only the children fully out of the womb are considered murder victims. can someone explain to me how children still in the womb, torn apart by surgical instrument are not victims of

murder but those delivered and their spinal cord was cut three feet from their mother are murder victims? i will never understand the strained logic that says when a child is killed in the womb, it's choice but if you kill the child in daylight it's murder. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized. >> many students often remember that one endwaging, powerful teacher who inspires them to change the course of their lives. i am proud to recognize one of hose teachers, ms. velo from a high school in my congressional district. mr. swalwell: she was named the 2013 outstanding senior high school teacher of the year. as a social security studies high school she is a true lead r the advancing social

studies education by teaching how to engage students with new and innovative teaching methods. this is something we'll need as we lead our students to be competitive in a changing economy. she's a wonderful example of the most dedicated teachers from across the nation who from day-to-day strive to better the lives of the students and assist the teachers around them. once again, i congratulate ms. velo on receiving this well-deserved recognition and yield back the plns of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and rhett let's my remarks. -- and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman veck nighed. >> i rise today to pay respect and grief for those who suffered loss of life and harm in boston. i had two of my own constituents who suffered grievous loss and one of them, the loss of a leg. it reminds us once again that

those who seek our destruction are fully committed to that objective while the terrorists and others work in a very open way, seeking pluck notoriety, they have also learn t.d. -- learned to work in a quiet and sophisticated and tactical way in cyberwarfare. mr. pittinger: we have an important -- mr. pittenger: we have an important bill before us today about cyberwarfare. 300,000 cyberattacks occur on industry every single day. we must stop this. they are bent on our destruction and we can do what it takes today to show the world that year fully committed to defend our homeland. thank you very much, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized. >> last night, pbs aired the

memphis soul performance from last week at the white house. mr. cohen: it feature maryland performances from stack records in memphis. paw is raised money to memorial in the site. from booker t. and the m.g.'s "green onions," "soul man," they made a significant contribution to the music of the era. charter he souls school opened its doors, now expanded to grades six through 12, in 2013, the first class of the school has 100% college acceptance rate and scholarships. i encourage every to come to visit the stacks museum and see the charter school.

i also hope you'll tune in on pbs this afternoon to watch another performance of "memphis soul" at 5:00 eastern, 4:00 central. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise today to honor the team. women's basketball they won in a 71-56 victory over new york's staaling college on friday. i would like to congratulate the eagles' m.v.p. senior carrie dougherty for contributing 26 points to the win. she was also honored for player of the year for the division. i would also like to congratulate coach sue ramsey for leading her team to victory. the sportsmanship and hard work displayed by the ashton eagles throughout the season has been

unparalleled. this accomplishment deserves a most sincere congratulations and we are most proud of ashton eagles. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. last week right here in d.c. i hosted farmers from all over this country that only ask for fair treatment and compensation as they do their work. there were 20 of us congressional members i saw the look in their face, hope they would soon have a pathway to citizenship, fair wages, and worker protections. i saw the same hope in the eyes of my parents who came here as farm workers. but the senate immigration bill farm workers are one step closer to gaining legal status. however as any legislation moves forward, i will remain vill

gantt against any effort for mistreatment. i look forward to working with both side of the aisle and both our houses to make sure we fix this broken immigrationies tell. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for one minute. mr. fleming: mr. speaker, the american people have just finished the annual agragation of tax preparation. every year individuals and businesses spend more than six billion hours and about $168 million just to meet the filing requirements of the i.r.s. our those hit hardest by tax code are senior citizens. many live on fixed incomes and have common forms of income like dividends, social security benefits, i.r.a. distributions.

yet they face the high cost of compliance. that's why i introduced the seniors tax simplification act. this commonsense bill, and it is bipartisan, would create one simple form, much like the popular 1040 e.z. form. it will be used for the relatively simple tax filing situations that are common for seniors any way. creating a no nonsense 1040 s.r. form would he reduce compliance cost for seniors and lessen the burden of the tax season for them. the seenors tax act is a straightforward, no cost bill that has bipartisan support and been endorsed by many senior citizen groups and deserves a vote in this house. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady rom nevada seek recognition? without objection, the gentlelady from nevada is recognized. ms. titus: thank you. after far too long there is

finally bipartisan momentum in washington towards implementing comprehensive immigration reform. our immigration system today is crowded and confusing. it divides families. it stifles the american dream for high-skilled for students and entrepreneurs. and it does not address the exemploymentation -- exploitation of many immigrants in the workplace. the proposals unveiled last night are not perfect. for example, they eliminate diversity visas and certain family visas. but we are making progress. and i look forward to supporting a bill that secures our borders, makes our existing laws more efficient and timely, promotes entrepreneurship and innovation, provides a fair pathway to citizenship for the mlts of immigrants already in the united states. and includes the dream act. it must also include humane provisions to keep families of all kinds together. we can and must get this done.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. chabot: as dean of the ohio republican delegation in the house, i was greatly saddened to hear of the untimely passing oferly --ly sunday morning of our friend and former colleague, representative charlie wilson. although charlie and i were on different sides of the aisle and often disagreed on policy, i always admired his dead -- dedication to our state and tireless energy as he worked to serve his constituents to the best of his ability. i'm not alone when i say that a conversation with charlie was always memorable and usually ended with, broad smiles as you parted company. one thing that charlie and i did have in common, we played college football and we were both defensive linemen. and at least in our own minds the older we got, the better we had been. charlie wilson was an honorable man, a trusted ally, and a

worthy opponent. i ask my colleagues to join in wishing his four sons and nine grandchildren our condolences. his 14 years of government service in ohio and in washington, d.c., is a legacy they should always cherish and be proud of. god bless charlie wilson. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from maryland seek recognition? ms. edwards: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. edwards: thank you, mr. speaker. like many americans i began my morning this morning with a check of the local weather forecast. it actually helps me answer questions, important questions, what should i wear, do i need an umbrella, storm approaching that's going to tie up traffic? the weather forecast is really important, but too often it's taken for granted. unfortunately thanks to the republican assistance that sequester cuts take effect are access to be timely and reliable weather forecast may be impacted negatively. on monday the national otherian graphic and atmospheric agency,

which includes the national weather service, proposed four furlough days with the potential for 10. the cash strapped weather service provides predictions for the extreme weather events such as superstorm sandy, historic drought impacting our agricultural sector last year, and the tornadoes that ravaged the south in 2011. on a basis impact the lives of americans across the country. even today severe storms are ravaging the midsection of the country. the weather service is already understaffed. sequester -- sequestration can further deteriorate forecasting abilities. once again they have made indiscriminate spending cuts our top priority. we need to stop this and protect our economic safety and our national security. thank you. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from utah is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. our hearts and prayers go out to those in boston and

massachusetts and all those states where people came to participate in a marathon. mr. chaffetz: i want to thank those first responders, they are fire men, police officers, paramedics, doctors, nurses, and sometimes they are just somebody who never expected to be in that situation at that time. yet our fellow countrymen respond. they are there. and right now we have people responding in the senate. they put themselves out there, they run to the challenges, it is the american spirit. they touch the heart of all of us, and, mr. speaker, i just want to say, god bless them and god bless the united states of america. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. yarmuth: mr. speaker. this is what my constituent, barbara, wrote to the louisville

cour your journal this morning. while polls continue to say the majority of n.r.a. members and a sizable majority of the american people support background checks, and a majority of citizens support limiting magazine size, a majority in congress at this point apparently does not favor either. how can that be? to me it is evident that these members of congress cannot kneel obligated to us, the people who elected them, whom he they represent. rather he they feel the -- beholden to the gun lobby which fattens their campaign chest. it is obvious the gun making industry which does not condone or support gun violence, benefits from the rush of citizens exercising the right of protection for their families after these tragic events. we the citizens must do or bit to lobby congress and remind them our will take precedence. in kentucky three out of four people support background checks for every gun sale. more than 90% of american people and 3/4 of the n.r.a. members

support background checks which have stopped nearly two million people from illegally buying guns. still 40% of guns are purchased without a background check. i urge my colleagues to listen to the vast majority of americans and support background checks. >> for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, it's hard to believe that the senate immigration bill is worse than we thought. despite assurances that border -- the border is not secure before almost everyone in the country illegally is given amnesty. the bill guarantees there will be a rush across the border to take advantage of massive amnesty. the bill offers amnesty to far more illegal imgradgets than we thought. -- immigrants than we thought. in addition to the ones in the country, it offers to legalize their relatives outside the country, and even others who have already been deported home. so current immigration laws are shred.

the good news is that the house judiciary committee will come up with a better plan. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman rom texas is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today encouraged the comprehensive immigration reform is moving. now that a framework has been released by our colleagues in the senate. the 23 $congressional disdirect which i represent runs some 800 miles along the texas-mexico border. it includes five ports of entry. no other congressional district shares a larger border with mexico. after more than two decades, i'm encouraged that our friends in the senate are taking steps and we finally have this framework. mr. gallego: i look forward to working in a bipartisan and

bicameral way to get it done this year. our values teach us that our families should stick together and hard work not circumstance should shape our future. i believe our nation becomes stronger as more people pledge allegiance to our flag and commit themselves fully to our nation and to our economy. last week i asked the senate gang of eight to give special consideration to members of the armed services who risked their lives every day for our country and our families. particularly important to folks and families in the san antonio, or forebliss in el paso. and comprehensive immigration reform eliminates the three and 10-year bar on vouchers for spouses. and streamlines the naturalization process for those deployed overseas. i look forward to working with my colleagues to getting it done this year. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition?

>> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as you-all know monday was tax day so it's an appropriate time to talk about the need for tax reform. we need a simpler, more competitive tax code that's flatter and fairer so we can create jobs and put americans back to work. we need a simpler code. a code when you include all its regulations annotated total 74,000 pages. according to the latest estimate for the united states treasury, americans spent 6.1 billion hours complying with the tax code. we also need a more competitive tax code. the united states has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. simply filing our tax code and closing loopholes for everyone will help create an environment that encourages job growth and increases wages. the ryan budget is based on such reforms. these reforms can help get americans back to work. mr. stivers: i yield back the

balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. kosta: thank you -- mr. costa: thank you, mr. speaker. on monday in boston we were reminded how vulnerable we all are as americans and how important it is that we stay together. today i rise to recognize the merced community violence intervention and prevention task force. this hardworking organization in the a joaquin valley i represent in 2013 is the recipient of the lowest hate award of excellence and innovation from the victims' rights caucus of which i am a co-chair. the task force is an innovative collaboration of local leaders that was form in 2006 in response to gang related violence throughout merced county.

the task force makes merced a safer place by educating the community about about violence. promoting character development and providing the information to families and most importantly our youth. from gang awareness workshops, erced county's first anonymous text a tip line. the tax force has contributed greatly to our merced community and throughout the area. on behalf of the victims rights caucus, i want to offer my congratulations and thank the merced community violence intervention and prevention task force. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? without objection the gentleman from utah is recognized. >> like all americans, my heart and prayers go out to the eople of boston, mr. chairman. proud to chk i'm

stand here to talk about something, this is something that has the potential to invigorate our economy, extend personal freedoms and restore faith in our government like this issue could. of course i'm talking about meaningful strategic tax reform. i was a business owner and c.e.o. for 12 years. because of that, i understand in a personal way that the current tax system is rife with waste. it invites abuse and worst of all it creates so much uncertainty as to make it difficult if not impossible to make good decisions about our future. again and again, we read stories and see example where the current tax code punishes success while ignoring the economic impacts of poor government policy. we can do better than this. we have an opportunity to do better than this we must do better. everyone will benefit.

let's do this now. mr. speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: last monday, thousands of people from around the world traveled to boston to take part in the boston marathon this long standing american tradition was shattered at 2:50 p.m. eastern time when two bombs went off along the finish line, killing three spectators including an 8-year-old child and injuring nearly 200 more. at times like this, words fail to capture our sense of disbelief, the pain in our heart theansd anger we feel toward anyone who would do such great harm to so many innocent lives. though we don't yet know the ident i have to the perpetrate yorks know our country will not rest until they are brought to justice. the american people will emerge

from this stronger and more united than ever before. like all rhode islanders, since last month, my thoughts have remained with the people of boston and all the victims of this vicious act of violence and their loved ones. i pray that the passage of time might bring them some level of comfort. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. >> mr. speaker, many of my constituents filed tax returns. unfortunately, their taxes weren't the only thing they had to pay. hard working americans will spend $168 billion completing taxes under our country's four million word tax code. america's tax code is broken and count meet the needs of 21st century economy. it is time for a simpler, fairer, flatter code, one that eliminates special interest loopholes to ensure everyone pays what they owe. but we don't need higher taxes.

the government is poised to take in record revenues this year yet the president insists on more new taxes. it won't lead to economic prosperity. rather, we need to cut spending, balance the budget and rein in expensive government. tax reform is something the american people overwhelmingly support and something house republicans remain committed to addressing. i yield pack. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady seek recognition? does the gentlelady seek unanimous consent? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. you know, background checks may not have changed what happened at sandy hook but i hope sandy hook changes what happens here. 90% of the american people agree that expanding background checks for gun sales is the right thing to do. these checks will help keep guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable, convicted

felons and domestic abusers who threaten the safety of our families an our communities. time for congress to listen to commonsense and the voices of the american people. ms. hahn: i say to my senate colleagues, you came here to work for the american people, not just to work for your re-election. we are here to to a job, not just keep our jobs. i support senators mansion and toomey for coming together in a bipartisan way to push forward the legislation for expanded background checks. all we need is 60 senators who have the courage to stand up and do the right thing. commonsense measures to fight tragedy shouldn't be a heavy lift this should be an easy load. the speaker pro tempore: all members are reminded to direct their comments to the chair. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? mr. king: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. king: i come to the floor to announce that the senate released their gang of eight immigration bill sometime around 2:45 a.m. this hrning. it didn't take long for the group in the -- the secret group in the house to initiate to release their support for the bill. they had time apparently to analyze the 844 pages that are in this bill. i've had time to analyze a little bit of it. what it says, mr. speaker is this -- they want to instantaneously legalize everyone here in america illegally with a few exceptions in case they decide to enforce the law against them. that doesn't satisfy them, mr. speaker. they even want to go legalize the people that have been deported and sent to their home countries and bring them back to the united states. 11 knoll 20 million becomes at least 30 million people. because we have they call a de facto amnesty now, it's in fact literal amnesty now and making that progress -- promise will make another rush over our p borders. we must restore the rule of law.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. creating an immigration process for new american immigrants is not just an issue that will shape the future for one group. mr. payne: so much is at stake for the three million african and caribbean immigrants who are here. they are a vital part of our future in search of freedom and a better life. they also deserve a fair system that works and they are more than just a number on a page. last week, a young lady came to my office who was born in america to haitian parents. her name is natalie. natalie is a graduate student who has job offers lined up. she is ready to work and commits herself to this country.

but natalie can't do those things because of our broken immigration system. she is neither recognized as a citizen here or in haiti. while in tears, she said she has no home. she can't see her family, she is scared and feels aloan. natalie is one of those 11 million people that are looking for a pathway to citizenship. it is time to pass commonsense legislation that fixes our immigration system once and for all. one that serves our interests and reflebt ours values, for natalie and the 11 million other natalies who call america home. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the solution to our economic challenges is one simple word, growth. unfortunately, the only place

rally growing in our country today is washington, d.c. as i travel my district, workers, job seekers and small business owners tell me they are concerned about jobs and economic security. washington must unleash their economic potential by spending less, taxingless and regulating less. washington has to stop growing so the rest of the country can start to grow. mr. roth fuss: small business owners spent upwards of two billion hours to try to comply with the tax code. simplifying the tax code will help them save time and money they can put toward growing their businesses, hiring new employees and raising wages. washington must also streamline regulations that are stronging -- strangling growth. rerains act would require that any regulation with an annual impact of $100 million or more be subject to a vote of this house. with the right tax and regulatory policies, america's economy can thrive again. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield

back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. 700,000 people had been gathered up in guantanamo. a report was issued yesterday, it was head pid resa hutchinson a former republican colleague of ours, it concluded, in quotes, that the united states engaged in the practice of torture and that the methods we used, water boarding, slamming prisoners into walls, chaining them in stress positions for hours, fun we violated international legal obligations with, in quotes, no firm or persuasive evidence that they produced valuable information

that could not have been obtained by other means. it also concluded that what we did had in quotes, no justification, and in quotes, danieled the standing of our nation, redeuced our capacity to convey moral censure when necessary, and potentially increased the danger to u.s. military personnel taken captive. there was nos pretent -- precedent, it should not continue, guantanamo bay should be closed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek reis? without objection thembing gentleman from florida is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it's tax week. as you know, that means that americans' heads are chock full of all kinds of numbers. we have done all kinds of itemizations and deductions in our personal finances to make sure we know how much we are going to hand over to uncle sam. let me share with you some more numbers. how about $168 billion.

that's how much our fellow americans spend each year just to make sure they comply with our over complicated tax code. just how complicated are the tax rules in this country? here's another number, four million. mr. southerland: that's how many words there are in the u.s. tax code. there are 4,500 words in the u.s. constitution, 775,000 words in the bible. and yet there are four million in our tax code. what does this all add up to? it mean ours current tax system is broken, mr. speaker. we need fundamental tax reform to make our code fairer and simpler for all americans that is the house republican plan. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 164 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar

number 16, house resolution 164, resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution, the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 624 to provide for the sharing of certain cyberthreat intelligence and cyberthreat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the permanent select committee on intelligence. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. in lue of the amendment in the nature -- in lieu of the amendment in the nature of the substitute recommended by the permanent select committee on

intelligence now printed in the bill it shall be in order to consider as original bill for purpose of amendment under the five minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rule committees print 113-7. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules acompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole.

all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. . mr. woodall: for the purpose of debate overwhelm i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. woodall: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded for the purpose of debate only. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five

legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. woodall: mr. speaker, i always enjoy the reading of the resolution. there are a lot of readings that you can waive on the floor of this house, but not so with the rules resolution. because this resolution is framing the nature of the debate we are going to have, perhaps on the most important issue that we have taken up so far in this congress. the underlying bill is h.r. 624. the cyberintelligence sharing and protection act. whenever we start talking about cyberintelligence sharing and protection, folks often think that sharing and protection are oxymorons, you can't have a protected sharing, and you can't have a shared protection. it's not an easy nut to crack, mr. speaker. i don't sit on the intelligence committee, but i have been down to the classified briefings where folks are sharing the tales of the amazing successes

that our teams, both domestically and abraud are having and combating cyberthreats. but it's getting harder and harder every day, mr. speaker. and we have to balance the national security implications of failing to address these threats with what we and all americans love which is our liberty here at home. our liberty here at home, our privacy here at home. in order to try to crack that, mr. speaker, we brought this bill to the floor last congress. it has been changed and improved since that time. and today this rule makes in order an additional 12 amendments. now we'll have the traditional one hour of debate on the underlying bill, but there will be another 12 amendments, each debated, two hours of total additional time, so that members can have their voices heard. these additional 12 amendments, mr. speaker, four of them were offered by republican members, seven of them were offered by

democratic members. one is a bipartisan amendment. but the rule is designed to allow that further discussion because of the very important nature of the underlying bill. rise in support of the rule, mr. speaker, and to allow for that debate, and support for the underlying resolution. in today's world, you don't have to have a battlefield full of tanks to wage war on your enemies. a nation state can have a room full of young computer scientists and a couple of computers. and begin to be a threat to the largest and most democratically controlled country in the world. we don't want to close our borders, we don't want to have federal control over the internet. so many of these nation states, the government does control the internet. that's never going to happen here in america.

that's not who we are or what we are about. private sector providers control about 80% of the networks here in america. as it should be. but what can we do to make ourselves safer tomorrow than we are today? here's what the underlying bill does, mr. speaker. it enables for the very first governments es and to share information about the threats that they are facing. you go up the road to maryland, mr. speaker, where the n.s.a. is operating we say there are some smart, smart folks there. on the frontlines, cyberwarfare, protecting america, protecting american enterprise. but today when they are aware of threats that are impending threats to our financial system, threats to our economic system they can't share that information with the private sector. back in my home district, mr. speaker, we are home to u.p.s.,

united parcel service, delta, home depot. if those companies come under attack today, delta can't share that information with american airlines and say look what happened to us, be on the lookout, it might happen to you. home depot can't share with lowes' today. don't let it happen to you. this bill changes that. this bill for the first time says in the name of defending america and american interests against cyberthreats around the globe, you can begin to share with one another what your experiences are. the idea is to protect yourself from having to have that happen to you again in the future. the real important thing to me, mr. speaker, about this bill is hold up for you right here, mr. speaker. the cyberintelligence protection and sharing aspect of this bill, it's the important part, meat of this bill.

it's going to allow us to be safer tomorrow than today. but the bulk of the words in this bill don't speak to the sharing in terms of enabling it. it speaks to the sharing in terms of restricting it. page after page after page after short 24-page bill talks about how we as citizens must, must, must continue to be safe and secure in the privacy of our own information. it's a four-step process the bill lays out, mr. speaker, in terms of how we can ensure no personally ible information is being shared from -- identical information is being shared from the folks out there on the internet when they are sharing that with the government or with one another in order to prevent threats to american security or economic prosperity, to ensure that personally identifiable information is not a part of that information that's shared,

because privacy is paramount. i have been tremendously impressed through this process, mr. speaker, because i'm one of the folks who is most likely to be suspect when we start talking about sharing information with the government. i'm a big lover of liberty. not many things i'm willing to give liberty up for. there's not a one i'm willing to give liberty up for. but the intelligence committee from which this bill came has worked with members month after month after month after month to ensure that privacy is protected. that we as citizens can be secure at the same time that we are fighting threats that perhaps we are not allowed to talk about on this floor, we are protectinged from threats that each and every -- protected from threats that each and every one of us have in our everyday lives. it's not easy to craft this bill. it's been and credible bipartisan effort throughout, mr. speaker, in order to put

this language together. again, we have four republican amendments made in order by this rule, seven democratic amendments made in order by this rule, one bipartisan amendment made in order by this rule. it is my great hope that we can move forward today with this rule, with debate on the underlying bill, and move forward with something that is far, far, far overdue, mr. speaker, and that's protecting america, american business, and american individuals. american citizens from the threats posed by nation states through cyberwarfare from abroad. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i thank my friend from georgia for yielding the customary 30 minutes to me. before i would begin, i'd like to take a moment as have almost all of our colleagues that have

spoken here today, to offer my sincerest condolences to the people of boston, massachusetts, following the deadly explosions at monday's marathon. can't speak for everyone here but i believe that most of us would say that our thoughts and prayers of the united states congress are with the victims, their families, and friends at this most difficult time. those responsible for this act of terror will be brought to justice. mr. speaker, while i rise today in support of h.r. 624, the cyberintelligence sharing and protection act, better known as cispa, i do not support the rule and my friend from georgia spoke

about how important it is that we have the reading of the rule and one of the particular efforts of congress that allows for there not to be any abridgement of that. but i do believe that we would be better served if this were an open rule. last night during our rules committee hearing, the majority blocked several germane democratic amendments which would have further helped to balance cybersecurity concerns with smart policy that protect our citizens. i spoke to those issues last night and i raise them again particularly the two amendments offered by our colleagues, ms. schakowsky, and others, and mr. schiff.

however the underlying legislation is, as my friend from georgia said, a bipartisan bill that aims to safeguard our nation's computer networks and critical infrastructure by allowing for two-way cyberthreat information sharing on an entirely voluntary basis. both between the private sector and the federal government and within the private sector itself. in his march 12, 2013 testimony, before the senate intelligence committee, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, stated for the first time that cyberattacks and cyberespionage have supplanted terrorism as the top security threat basing the united states. in recent months, media reports

have highlighted cyberattacks on several major u.s. companies, including facebook, google, and the network security from r.s.a., as well as "the new york times," bloomberg news, and "the washington post" newspapers. furthermore, government networks such as those of the central intelligence agency and the united states senate have also been targeted by hackers. and waves of cyberattacks have sought to disrupt operations at financial institutions and service providers, including american express, j.p. morgan, chase, citigroup, wells fargo, bank of america, and others. the fact of the matter is that state actors, terrorist organizations, and criminal groups, individuals and

countless persons that describe themselves as hackers attack our private and public computer networks thousands of times every day. many foreign hackers seek to steal valuable trade secrets which results in the loss of countless american jobs. there are estimates that have been quoted of loss from economic espionage that range as upwards as high as $400 million a year. unfortunately the same vulnerabilities used to steal trade secrets can be used to attack the critical infrastructure we depend on every day. our economy, our power grids, and our defenses are increasingly reliant on computers and network integration. these networks power our homes,

provide our clean water, protect our bank accounts, our national security information, and manage other critical services. in addition to intellectual property and national security intelligence, personal finance, health care, and other private records are prime targets for attackers to steal. according to the information technology industry council, 18 adults become victims to cybercrime, including identity campaigns ishing every second. this adds up to 1 1/2 million cybercrime victims each day. cyberattacks present a very real and dangerous threat to the united states, however the government currently